Barriers to and facilitators of military spouses’ recovery from perinatal mental health disorders: A qualitative study

LAY SUMMARY Perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) are a common complication of child-bearing that affect about one in seven mothers in the United States. Military life often involves recurring separations from family as a result of deployments. Although much research has focused on how PMHDs aff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of military, veteran and family health veteran and family health, 2023-09, Vol.9 (4), p.77-87
Main Authors: Nguyen, My Hanh Teresa, Semino-Asaro, Semira, Reminick, Alison M, Rukaj, Amber T, Connelly, Cynthia D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Care and treatment
Clinics
Family
Health aspects
Married people
Medical centers
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Mental health
Military leaders
Military personnel
Military wives
Postpartum depression
Psychiatric services
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Summary:LAY SUMMARY Perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) are a common complication of child-bearing that affect about one in seven mothers in the United States. Military life often involves recurring separations from family as a result of deployments. Although much research has focused on how PMHDs affect military families, little is known about military spouses’ experiences in recovering from PMHDs. This qualitative study centred on barriers to and facilitators of PMHD recovery among U.S. female military spouses. Semi-structured focus groups revealed five main barriers (stigma, impacts on service member’s career, lack of support, accessibility, practical and logistical concerns) and three main facilitators (solid support structure, encouragement to seek help, practical and logistical facilitators). Identifying specific barriers to and facilitators of PMHD recovery among military spouses promotes military family psychological health and wellness. Introduction: Perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) are a common complication of child-bearing, affecting approximately 1 in 7 U.S. mothers. An expanding literature has examined how PMHDs affect military families; however, little is known about military spouses’ experiences in accessing and engaging in treatment for PMHDs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of the barriers to and facilitators of accessing, engaging, and progressing in treatment and recovery among a sample of U.S. military spouses with PMHDs. Methods: Military spouses (N = 12) were recruited from a maternal mental health clinic at an academic medical centre in San Diego, California, United States. Five semi-structured focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by research team members until consensus on themes was reached. Results: Eight themes emerged: five main barriers (stigma, impacts on service member’s career, lack of support, accessibility, practical and logistical concerns) and three main facilitators (solid support structure, encouragement to seek help, practical and logistical facilitators). Discussion: Findings enhance and complement extant research examining barriers to mental health care treatment and recovery among military spouses and suggest barriers to and facilitators of PMHDs. Fear of harming the serving spouse’s career can be mitigated through supportive military leadership advocating for serving spouses to support their partners’ recovery. Education for military leaders
ISSN:2368-7924
2368-7924
DOI:10.3138/jmvfh-2022-0067